Supernatural Preview: Episode 7.04 - "Defending Your Life"

This weekâ€™s episode is another stand-alone MOTW who just happens to be an Egyptian god named Osiris (guest star Faran Tahir) who puts Dean on trial for his past. So who is Osirisâ€¦. really?

Osiris is a mythological Supreme god and judge of the dead, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, and the underworld. He was killed at the hands of his brother and was resurrected by the magical powers of his wife, Isis. The symbol of resurrection and eternal life, he was the provider of fertility and prosperity to the living. He is described as not only a merciful judge of the dead in the afterlife, but also the underworld agency that granted all life.

He hardly seems like the monster the show has him depicted as, but the SPN version of this Osiris is anything but merciful.

As Dean and Sam investigate a series of bizarre murders, they discover Osirisâ€¦or more to the point, Osiris discovers Dean. Seems he is behind the deaths which he inflicts on his victims after he judges them for their past mistakes and finds them guilty. So, how does he find his victims? According to Bobby, he hones in on guilt so Dean just stands out like a beacon to the god.

Osiris decides the older Winchester is the next to stand trial and Sam gets to finally be a lawyer, the profession he was originally going into in the pilot of the series. Yeahâ€¦..thatâ€™s a long way back!

Things take a nasty turn for the boys when Osiris introduces a few witnesses to testify against Dean. One surprise witness is Jo Harvelle (played by Alona Tal).

Letâ€™s do a quick trip back in time. Jo Harvelle is the daughter of Ellen and Bill Harvelle. Bill was killed while hunting with John Winchester, which initially Ellen held against the boys. Jo wanted to be a hunter and set out on her own in â€œNo Exitâ€ (2.06) against Ellenâ€™s wishes, but by â€œGood God Y'Allâ€ (5.02), Ellen and Jo are a hunting team. In â€œAbandon All Hopeâ€ (5.10), Ellen and Jo team up with Dean, Sam and Bobby and both Ellen and Jo are killed while taking out Megâ€™s hellhounds to save the boysâ€¦.a loss that Dean has blamed himself for ever since.

It was a heart wrenching scene Dean and Jo shared when they had to part, as there were always undertones of a possible relationship between the two.

The promo released last Friday leads off with a few scenes from Joâ€™s death including Dean and her parting kiss before the store explodes with Jo and Ellen inside.

The promo also show Dean in a bar talking to Mia (played by Emilie Ullerup) about his guilt. No idea what role Mia has in the episode, but I hope she turns out to be on the boys side. Really looks like they will need all the help they can get.

We see Osiris on a street corner lurking seemingly in wit for a woman he sneaks up behind. Iâ€™m guessing one of his other victims.

We see Bobby warning dean about Osiris MO of hunting up guilt-ridden people and Dean in a bar drinking with Osiris looking on.

There is also a scene of Dean telling Sam that Osiris is going to â€˜sick Jo after himâ€™ which must mean Sam lost the trial and that Osiris found Dean guilty. Right after his comment, Jo appears behind him.

We donâ€™t know how the victims are killed, but it makes sense to have a person wronged by the guilt do the dastardly deed.

She talks to a disconsolate Dean about an â€˜eye for an eyeâ€™ as she walks to the stove, turns on the gas and is posed to strike a light, with apparently no objection from Dean who appears to be right next to her. At that point, the clip ends.

Iâ€™m guessing Sam is MIA or has been incapacitated in some fashion. So it is Bobby to the rescue, or does Dean come to his senses just in time? Guess we wait till Friday for that answer.

The CW releases a second promo for the episode entitled â€œEveryone Judges,â€ in which Dean questions his mission on this hunt. Donâ€™t some people deserve to be judged, he wonders. And, yes, Dean includes himself in this group.

Coming out of a motel, Sam sees inconsistency in Dean. Dean seems to â€˜likeâ€™ this ghostâ€™s choice of victims. Seems he only chooses, in Deanâ€™s words, â€œâ€¦a drunk driver, a Michael Vick, a murdererâ€¦â€ He claims to â€˜have a hard time not routing for the ghosts on this one.â€™ Seems he is losing confidence in the case they are on.

Sam reminds Dean that Dean has said it himself, â€œItâ€™s not on us to judge.â€ Which Dean has to agree with initially, but then says it a lot of crap, because people do it all the time. Dean says he canâ€™t ignore what that guy did and Sam replies â€œwe shot people Dean, more than two.â€ Dean agrees and says when those ghosts come to kick his ass; theyâ€™ll have a compelling case. (Ohhhâ€¦be careful what you say Dean. Sounds like you are agreeing to be judge for your past actionsâ€¦.exactly what this episode is all about!)

Dean continues he doesnâ€™t want to quit the job, but would just like one uncomplicated day doing it. (Like that would ever happen. [Smile]) Sam, exasperated, gives up the discussion and says heâ€™s heading to check out the barn (an apparent lead they have) and would like Dean to come with him. (Iâ€™m guessing that will be the barn Osiris is holding his trials in.) Dean says heâ€™s heading to check out the bar (another lead). Sam immediately wants to know if itâ€™s â€œfor work or drinkâ€â€¦ Dean retorts, smartly that he hasnâ€™t decided.

In the earlier promo, we do see Dean talking with Mia in a bar about guilt and also a bar is where Osiris sees Dean so maybe most guilt-ridden people go to bars to drown their sorrows and that is a good hunting ground for the god to choose his victims. At any rate, this promo seems to be in the earlier part of the episode and sets us up for the doom and gloom about to be played out.

Official synopsis: Sam and Dean investigate a string of gruesome murders and discover the Egyptian god Osiris (guest star Faran Tahir) is behind the deaths. The vengeful god is putting people on trial for their past mistakes and killing them if found guilty. Osiris hones in on Deanâ€™s guilt and decides heâ€™s the next to stand trial. Sam steps in as Deanâ€™s lawyer, but both brothers are unprepared when Osiris calls an unexpected witness â€“ Jo (guest star Alona Tal). Written by CW Publicity

Executive Producer Robert Singer directed the episode and, of course, he is not new to â€œSupernatural.â€ He has been with the series for all of its 6 yr history and during that time produced 148 episodes and directed 20 of them. His credits include â€œPhantom Traveler,â€ â€œAll Hell Breaks Looseâ€ parts 1 and 2, and last yearâ€™s finale, â€œThe Man Who Knew Too Much.â€

The episode was penned by Adam Glass, who is relatively new to the series. He joined the writing staff last year and wrote the episodes â€œMommy Dearest,â€ â€œLike a Virgin,â€ â€œAll Dogs Go To Heaven,â€ and â€œTwo and a Half Men.â€

Susan Glittens has some nice photos of a location shoot taken during the time this episode was filmed. She also got some nice photos of the night shoot that was part of the episodeâ€¦complete with smoke machines!

And more on-set photos from a night shoot were released by JustJared. In these the photographers saw Osiris menaces a woman and watch Sam rescue her. At the same time Dean gets grabbed from behind by another â€œdemonâ€? The actress Emilie Ullerup was also filmed in this scene which looks like the scene in the above promo where Osiris is lurking behind a wall to attack an unsuspecting victim.

This being a stand-alone MOTW episode, not much information was released. We see more mythology again, but this time in the form of Egyptian rituals. Egyptian mythology is very intriguing, a lot of fun and not used nearly enough in film and TV. On the other hand, this sounds a lot like â€œYou Canâ€™t Handle the Truthâ€, which was good, but the mythological component, the pagan goddess Veritas, was given a very short part and in the end reduced to a mundane cannibal, not at all her real function. The merciful Osiris doesnâ€™t seem to be getting much of a break with the â€œSupernaturalâ€ writers either.

Sam being a lawyer and defending his older brother has a lot of interesting potential. Weâ€™ve never seen Sam use his knowledge of the law much since the earlier years, and never in a court settingâ€¦so to speak. It would be a good chance for Sam to voice all the good Dean has done over the years, as I suspect Dean will not be a very cooperative defendant. Dean truly does mistakenly believe he was responsible for Ellen and Joâ€™s death, and if, in the end, Dean comes to his own conclusion that he is a worthy person and that the deaths were the fault of Lucifer, that would be quite an accomplishment. But given the *hints* written between the lines in the promos we saw, that is not likely to happen. One thing this show seriously lacks is happy endings.

Iâ€™m also very curious about the role Mia plays in the story. She is not a mythology figure and does appear to be interested in Dean, so she is the wild card here. Is she working with Osiris and helping him to scope out potential clients, or is she a hunter on the same scent as the boys? If the later, she could throw a huge monkey wrench into the plot.

Also wonder if Bobby is more involved that just talking on the phone. He does seem to have recovered at least some of his books in this episode.

As for the return of Jo, I will forever miss Ellen and Jo. For me killing them off was one of the seriesâ€™ biggest mistakes. One thing this series could use is strong female characters, (and no, I donâ€™t mean as romantic interests for the boys) and that is what Ellen and Jo as hunters could have provided. As far as Jo and Deanâ€™s last kiss, Jensen Ackles commented, â€œItâ€™s a heartwarming scene between the two of them.â€ One thing the series does well is sadness. I suspect that is what we will see this time too.

So guess we will all have to tune in Friday to see how Dean and Sam fair with the god of the underworld.

Comments

I have no idea how I managed to miss pretty much all the spoilers about this episode but if there's only one thing out there that could make the weekend better it's the thought of Dean in chains and Sam doing lawyer stuff.....

I cannot imagine why we must see Jo again, but I'll view yet another episode with her being pimped as Dean's lost love, even though I have no interest in her. On the other hand, I loved Ellen and wish it was her in this episode. Jo comes off as a girl playing at hunting to me. Ellen, on the other hand, is mature and has a mature relationship with the boys that could have been exploited in what I assume is going to be a dark episode.